


The Last Nerve

by timahina



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Secret Santa, Unhappy marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:28:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22047916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timahina/pseuds/timahina
Summary: It was just another night in their marriage where Zarc would wade into the bedroom after Ray supposedly fell asleep to her tears and ensuing silence. But it wasn't. They were going to talk even if all their buttons were pushed and they touched the last nerve.
Relationships: Akaba Ray/Zarc
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	The Last Nerve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PhKn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhKn/gifts).



“Can we talk? Or should I pretend I’m asleep, so you feel comfortable sleeping here?”

The way she spoke touched a nerve. And it was a familiar nerve she sunk her teeth into since the moment the engagement of their now unstable marriage was announced. Behind that bright smile was a calculating mind. Tonight, her usual determined eyes were tired and weary. Struck down not by the lateness of the hour but the days and weeks and months of attempting to tear down the wall he so carefully crafted between them.

“The latter sounds tempting.” He answered honestly and the way she scrunched up her nose; she was disappointed by his answer. Ray didn’t really want an answer. The question was clearly rhetorical. But just as she found the easiest way to unnerve him, he found the pleasure of finding hers as well.

“Just… please, one night. That’s all I ask. Why can’t you talk to me? We’re married, I don’t… I don’t understand why you avoid me and strut about as though you hate me. _Do_ you hate me, Zarc?”

The question was more than fair. Zarc had wondered the same thing since their parents joined their hands together in this unholy union. They were happy. And she broke down in tears of joy. It was nothing but a joyous and momentous occasion. To an outsider, he was happy. Zarc should be pleased with his tremendous luck. He married Akaba Ray, the eldest child of the prosperous Akaba family, owners of Leo Corporation! She was rich, beautiful, educated, glamorous, desirable… any man would fight an army to live in his shoes. To have the prize of the town bound to him in holy matrimony, to be loyal and obedient to him, to satisfy his lust and bear his children. No woman in town was kinder or prettier. In theory, Akaba Ray was perfect.

But. But.

_But!_

He saw her for what she really was. There was not enough wool she would weave to pull over his eyes. She was a conniving little viper, plotting as the rest of her family had. Behind that sweet smile lay her true, wicked nature where she wormed her way into his home through bribes and deceit. Of course, she’d go after the family who had fallen on hard times – the one with the wild child and prove she could tame any such creature. That was her goal, to prove her superiority over him?

“Let’s not do this now, perhaps another night when I’m not tired and you’re less difficult.” His tone was dismissive; feigning fatigue as he yawned loudly.

“Or when you have a full bottle on hand.” Ray muttered bitterly; her tone was nothing but spite.

Zarc ground his teeth together, balling his hands into fists as the gold band around his finger felt suffocating – doing everything in his power not to drive his fist through the wall and lose the slim control he had over his vile temper. She was the queen of sinking her teeth into that nerve. A bruise that would never heal, a wound she kept reopening. He stood up, ready to leave their bedroom. He once thought it a spacious room but the more nights he spent in this room, the more Zarc realized how small the room really was. How he could reach out and easily touch Ray.

Or how she could reach forward and pull on his sleeve.

“Stop being a coward and face me!”

He wanted to pull away. He _should_ pull away. He was stronger than her and there was nothing she could do to stop him from leaving the room. There were many doors in this mansion of theirs and behind each Zarc could find a new dwelling for the night. But she called him a coward. And knowing her, she would chase him down. Ray was a stubborn woman and she would not allow him any peace. She made up her mind; she wanted his attention.

The nerve broke.

Zarc turned around and in a quick blur, trapped Ray between his body and the nearest wall. Her breathing quickened; her chest rising and pressing against his. He was facing her now. And the shock was clear in her eyes. “You want the _truth_ , Ray?” Zarc should stop. The little voice in his head, the one that told him to avoid Ray when he was angry. To not drink around her. To not touch her. To stay away from her. The little voice implored him. No matter how much he hated her, he needed to stay away. But he was of clear mind and Zarc enjoyed seeing the fear in her eyes – a vicarious enjoyment of seeing the control she held slip away from her. This was not how she planned the night to go down.

The tears welling up and he grimaced, his grip on her shoulders tightened. It was easy to figure out what he wanted to say to her. A poorly covered up sentiment plastered upon his face. The first time he was truthful and painfully so. His gold eyes held no warmth, no love or comfort. Merely a steel lock upon hers which was… different than he thought.

The fear in her eyes made him giddy for a moment and he leaned in, their noses touching and their breaths mingling. But she was shaking. And in tears. She… was scared. Did she think he’d raise his fists against her? Was that the fear? No… she wouldn’t have grabbed him.

He opened his mouth and he saw her flinch.

She knew what he was trying to say. The truth he was ready to spew was venom and she recoiled. There was no hiding from it – the months she had spent were about to amount to nothing. Ray had challenged him to face her but there she was, unwilling to hear what they both knew would destroy her. And her reaction, the truth behind it… that gave him little enjoyment.

Ray… Ray was trying to shield herself from facing the truth. That she married a man who despised her. That she saved his family from ruin in the hopes he would love her and failed. That she had been wrong in her gamble… she seemed so small.

No words came out.

He meant to mock her, to really dig the knife in and see those tears finally fall down her face and see her cry in front of him rather than privately. That was his intention but somehow, he kissed her instead. A sloppy kiss with trembling lips and clashing teeth and tongue. Against his reason, he moved his arm around her waist. Her body trembled for many reasons as a desperate haze filled them both.

Her hands yanking his hair.

His fingers pulling at her nightgown.

The first time he’d been this enthusiastic toward her in their bedroom – a rude shock to her on their wedding night when he immediately fell asleep, not even bothering to undress. He didn’t even give her an excuse of being tired from the exhausting day or even console her by holding her. Zarc was determined to hurt her and yet, the smell of the apple oils she rubbed on her skin each night was intoxicating. He loved the sight of her fire red hair falling around her delicate frame and how her breath hitched into small gasps when he touched sights unseen.

He hated it. He hated her.

And yet, his body was eager for her touch and to unravel her. He wanted to hear her beg as he guided her to the bed. When her back hit the mattress, Zarc pulled away from her as some fleeting and dying sense returned to him. His mouth above hers, the smallest of touches with the tips of their noses grazing. She gulped as he breathed heavily. Ray’s eyes did not stray from his lips.

The fear in her eyes did not leave but it mingled with desire for her husband who seemed… less than enthusiastic about touching her. “Don’t leave.” Her lip trembled and she hated how she begged. Ray wanted to be a force of nature, to command him to stay beside her. To have him be the last sight of the evening and to be the first in the morning. She saw him pulling away and without hesitation, she wrapped her legs around him. Her hand stroking his cheek.

Zarc wanted to hurt her, he was ready to cut her down to pieces moments ago. But a desperate kiss and a gentle touch – her soft voice. “… why do you make this difficult? You know I don’t want you.”

She scoffed and her thumb was slow and precise against his cheek. His lie was weak and obvious – especially in such a precarious position. He groaned in frustration and irritation but found himself leaning into her hand and the comfort it brought him.

She bought and paid for him; he should hate her. And a part of him did, she knew that. “You haven’t tried yet. You’ve closed your heart to me without giving me a chance to hold it.”

“… that’s a cheesy sentiment.”

“Maybe. But I’m still right.”

“Do you ever admit you’re wrong?”

“Frequently. I’m just not wrong about you.”

The absolute confidence that she spoke to him was quite endearing and he smirked as a result. “How do you think that? I think I’ve shown plenty how I feel.”

“Because…” Her messy and entangled hair was splayed out about the bed, a more gorgeous vision than he thought possible. The red nightgown gathered up at her thighs, tempting him. Her parted lips, they were begging for his touch. And it annoyed him greatly how he didn’t listen to the little voice in his head that told him to stop. “You’re still here.”

_… shit._

He hadn’t left the room after kissing her. He _kissed_ her. He didn’t want to see her cry even when he so easily could. The myriad of times Zarc could’ve triumphed in a petty manner in these short moments and he… he didn’t. And tonight, an ordinary night where the air was chilly and clear and nothing of consequence marred their day, Ray got under his skin in the worst possible manner. The nerve she managed to bruise and stomp and bite until it snapped was a weak part of the wall he held up that crumbled so pathetically before her.

Zarc avoided her every night and most days too for good reason. Not because he hated her, thought that was part of it, but because… because if he stayed in her presence long enough, allowed her gentle fingers to stroke his skin. To gaze deep into her dark eyes and see beyond that cunning smile – he would wither away. He was no fool and yet.

“That I am…” He was eager to kiss her again. But he shouldn’t let her know that. No, perhaps an easier concession could be made. Tonight, he could just hold her. Or at least face her tonight so he could see her at first light.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas Beka! Or at this point, happy new year lol I was your secret santa and so tried making some angst for you because dramatic angst is always fun lol here's to another year of archolics <3


End file.
